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Raymond Teague

Raymond Teague (died January 1865) was the commander of the Confederate Home Guard in Haywood County, North Carolina during the American Civil War.

Biography[]

Raymond Teague was born in Cold Mountain, North Carolina, the grandson of the largest landowner in the region. While his family lost much of its land as Cold Mountain grew into a larger settlement, Teague remained one of the town's leading men, and, in 1861, he was commissioned the commander of Haywood County's Confederate Home Guard at the start of the American Civil War. Teague was tasked with protecting Haywood County against Union raiders and punishing Confederate States Army deserters, and he was a pro-secession firebrand. His extreme Confederatism motivated him and his sadistic lieutenants to murder both deserters and those who sheltered them, such as Esco Swanger and his two deserter sons; he tortured Esco's wife Sally Swanger to draw out her sons before shooting them. At the same time, Teague failed to woo Ada Monroe, and Monroe was forced to flee to the hills with her friend Ruby Thewes after Teague shot Thewes' deserter father Stobrod Thewes and killed the deserter Ethan Pangle. Teague tortured Thewes' other associate Georgia White into telling the Home Guard where Monroe, Thewes, and the wounded Stobrod had taken up refuge, and, when Teague and his Home Guardsmen arrived there, they found that the deserter William P. Inman had also taken refuge with the civilians. When Teague prepared to shoot Inman, Ruby shot one of the Home Guardsmen, initiating a shootout. Inman was able to shoot all of the Home Guards, including a cornered Teague.

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